Hyperborean Wanderer
by EE's Skysong
Summary: Sequel to Big Boom. Rogue brings a newby to the team Morph! Although cheerful and funny, Morph is hiding something that gets exposed on the same day mutants do... AU, set before during and after DOR.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: "I know you! You're the evil egg people who stole my waffles!"

(An: READ THIS! If you just clicked on this 'cause of the weird title, I beg of you to go back and read "Big Boom", because I would like to think there's some continuity between the two. We can wait. Most things in this story will be an evil mix of canon/TAS/whole cloth, so turn back if you don't like that kind of thing. And no, Mr. Sinister will not make a reappearance. That would be too confusing. Basically, because I can't find a way to work this in casually, Rogue and Remy's shots have pretty much worn off. Remy's got control, Rogue pretty much doesn't. This is set six weeks after BB, before and during Shadowdance/Hex Factor/DoR. Now I think we're good, so onward!)

"What is that?" Kitty asked, giving the stuff in the pot an experimental stir.

"Don't y' people have spices around here?" Remy countered, digging around in the cabinets.

There was a bamf, and suddenly Kurt was hanging upside down in front of him. 

"Gah!" Remy yelled, stumbling backwards. "How many times do I have t' tell y', _mon ami_, don't **do** that!"

"Sorry," said Kurt, shrugging. "What are you guys doing, anyway?"

Remy stood up, and resumed going through the cabinets. "They tell me it's m' turn t' make dinner. Apparently, I'm not allowed t' order out, and de only thing I know how t' make with any competency is gumbo."

"Oh, so you're lookin' for the spices. Top shelf," Sam informed them, walking through.

"_Merci_," said Remy. He opened it, took several of the bottles, and dumped most of their contents into the pot. "Where's Rogue?" he asked as he stirred.

Kitty shrugged. "She said she wanted to take the long way home."

Remy glared at the pot. "Still missin' somethin'," he muttered.

Sam, hearing footsteps, dashed from the room, pausing only to say, "You guys never saw me."

"What's, like, with him?" Kitty wondered aloud.

"Probably took somethin' o' Rahne's again," Remy replied. He sighed, and started searching the cabinets again.

As though on cue, Rahne came in. "Hey, guys-"

"He went that way," said the others in the room.

"Thanks," said Rahne. She sniffed. "Ooh, what're ye makin'?" She dipped a spoon into the gumbo.

"I wouldn't-" Kitty and Kurt began.

However, it was a lost cause. Rahne sampled it, and quickly began chugging water like no tomorrow.

Sam came back in, holding a Frisbee, and snorted when he saw Rahne.

"What is in that stuff!" she cried.

"Don't taste that bad t' me," said an utterly confused Remy.

"I have enhanced taste buds, ye daftie!" Rahne retorted. "And I think ye just fried most of 'em!"

Remy blinked.

"Ya see, Rahne," Sam explained, over his fit of laughter, "we Southerners don't think it's fair that everyone else doesn't have to suffer the heat we do. So, naturally, we put a lot of that Southern fire in our cooking."

"Do you have **anything** good to say about us Southerners?" Rogue drawled, leaning in the doorway.

"When did you get here?" everyone else chorused.

"Just now. And look, Ah brought a friend." She tugged someone into view. "This is Morph."

The boy standing next to her was tall and lanky, with a large grin and dark brown hair that kept falling in his face. "Hi!"

The other five teens in the room turned their heads simultaneously. "Who's he?"

At this Rogue rolled her eyes and pushed the guy forward.

"Call me Morph," he announced. A plumed purple hat appeared on his head, and he swept it off with a deep bow.

"Would it kill ya to be serious for five minutes?" Rogue inquired of the boy in a belabored tone.

"Quite possibly, fair lady," Morph responded, his spirits not at all dampened.

Rogue glared at him.

"Seems like y' have a talent for pickin' up strays, _chere_," Remy commented. "Where'd y' find this one?"

Morph cocked his head, and then changed shape to look exactly like Remy. He was inspecting himself when Rogue stamped on his foot. He lost the shape, hopping around and holding the offended appendage. "Ow ow OW!"

"Cut that out," Rogue growled.

"Note to self," said Morph, "imitate friend, feel much pain."

"Is the professor in his office?"

"Yeah, why?" Kitty asked.

"Ol' fearless here wants ta join the team," Rogue explained.

"I get the feeling that was a veiled insult," Morph said, eyes narrowed.

"Yah're really pickin' up fast, then. Come on." She grabbed his arm and started to lead him out, then stopped, frowning. "Is somethin' burnin'?"

Remy stopped. "Oh, **_merde_**!"

ABOUT TEN MINUTES LATER...

Morph rocked back and forth on his heels. "Wow. Nice digs," he commented as he assessed the professor's study.

"Show **some** respect, would ya?" Rogue snapped, smacking his arm.

"Ow! That hurts, you know!"

"That's the point."

The professor watched all this silently, looking rather amused. He cleared his throat.

"Sorry," said Rogue, and shoved Morph forward.

Morph grinned. "Hi. I'm Morph. Rogue tells me you have a mutant-team-thingy, and I'm interested in joining." He began to rock back and forth on his heels.

Rogue jabbed him in the back. "This is the X-men, not a business interview."

"Would you make up your mind on whether or not I have to be polite?" Morph demanded of her, turning fully now.

Behind him, the professor politely cleared his throat.

Morph wheeled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. Short-attention span."

"I am assuming," said the professor, peering past him at Rogue, "that you found him, Rogue?"

"He was standing on a street corner doing Shakespearian acting for change," Rogue explained. "But he kept shapeshifting. Not exactly the best way to keep your cover, and people seemed to be gettin' kinda testy."

Morph beamed. "So she brought me here!" He frowned. "I don't have to pay rent, do I?"

Rogue snorted and the professor seriously looked like he was hiding a smile behind his steepled hands. "No, the room and board is free-"

"Provided you pull your weight around here," Logan growled (he'd been passing by and smelled a new student). "Who's the newbie?"

"Th' name's Morph!" he exclaimed, doing the plumed-purple-hat bit again.

The professor cleared his throat again. "Well, Morph, technically we'd need permission from your guardians to allow you to stay here..."

"Well, that's not a problem," said Morph cheerfully. "Since the parental units kicked me out, I can give myself permission!" He grinned.

The professor blinked. "Well, then, that's settled, I suppose."

"Cool!" Morph said. "...S' now what?"

"Since you found 'im, Stripes, why don't **you** give him the grand tour."

"That wasn't a question, was it."

"Good girl."

ABOUT FIVE MINUTES LATER, THE COMMON ROOM

"This is the living room, there's the TV- but don't expect ta ever get dibs on the remote without a fight- video games, couch, and so on," Rogue said, sounding very bored.

She walked into the kitchen, where Remy was still prodding the gumbo. "That's Remy. Until you showed up, he was the resident newby. And now he's just down to being resident punchbunny."

Remy made faces at her back.

"Ah have eyes in the back of mah head, swamp rat."

"Why do y' think I'm doin' this? _Et_ everyone knows I'm perfectly happy t' be **your** punchbunny, _chere_."

"Don't push it, bayou boy."

"I **live** t' push it with y'."

Rogue rolled her eyes and walked out, Morph following with a wave at Remy.

She led Morph down a hallway. "This is the senior X-men's wing- don't expect a room here, you'll get stuck with the newbies 'cause of your age."

"I never told you how old I was!"

"Ah guessed."

"Hey, newby," said Kitty, walking by and then through a door.

"Does she do that a lot?"

"All the time. You get used to it. Just be glad your bathroom's on the other side of the buildin', squirt."

Rogue pointed out a window. "Down there's the pool, the boathouse, and all that other 'outdoors' crap. Don't go in the woods, Logan'll skin your ass and you'll prob'ly get lost to boot."

She brought him to yet another hallway, like the first but noisier and longer. "**This** is the New Recruit's wing, where you'll be stayin'. Dunno who you'll room with, though. That's all up to Ororo. Be scared, she may look nice but she's kind of a sadist. Just don't go anywhere near her garden and you should be fine."

Morph looked around and then beamed at her, grabbing her in a bear hug. "I **love** it here!" he cried.

"...You don't wanna live long, do ya, kid?"

(And there's the first chapter, sarcastic and stupid as promised. There's a plot, I swear. In the next chapter: Morph suits up!)


	2. DR Time, How Fun?

Disclaimer: "Wait, so they get a Hugh Jackman lookalike and we get Logan the amazing Canadian supermidget?"

(An: And here we go again, with more Morph-themed madness. I hope I'm not annoying you all too much... but this fic is just really a furtherment of "Big Boom", i.e. an excuse to play with X-men!Remy and get more of a tie-in to canon, and the sequel will be more... plotty. And less... made up.)

"Ok," said Scott, looking Morph up and down. "This is your uniform." He shoved the ambiguous uniform at him. "It's biometric material, so it'll change when you change."

Kitty, who was watching with the rest of the X-men, spoke up. "What did you, like, wear before, anyway?"

Morph snapped the shirt he was wearing. "Funny stuff that goes transparent when you give it the shock treatment. Nicked it from a lab." (1)

"You were in a lab?" Kurt asked, cocking his head.

"Yeah, yeah, you know how those people are... promise you free orange juice and sugar cookies and then they start poking you... serves 'em right." Morph grinned so brightly that nobody noticed how quickly he changed the subject. "So, what are we doing now?"

"Danger Room session," Scott explained.

"...What are we doing?"

Scott sighed. "This could take a while... just get suited up, ok?"

"Can do, Scooter!"

"And who told you to call me that?"

FIVE MINUTES LATER...

Morph tugged curiously at his uniform. "Spandex?" Remy and Kurt snorted.

"**Why** does everyone ask that?" Scott wondered aloud.

"Maybe because it leaves nothin' t' de imagination?" Remy suggested, deadpanning. Rogue choked and Kurt collapsed, covering his mouth in a fruitless attempt to smother his laughter.

Scott blinked.

Behind him, Morph mouthed, "Not the brightest, is Scooter, hmm?"

"Let's just get started, ok?" said Scott, rubbing his forehead. _I need an aspirin._ He pointed at the DR door.

Morph watched the DR doors slide open with obvious amazement, and then skipped through, whistling "She Blinded Me with Science." Logan was standing there waiting for him, his arms crossed, scowling.

The other X-men headed up to the observation bay. Scott spoke into the mic. "Ok, see Logan?" 

"Like I could miss him!" Morph chirped.

Remy stole the mic for a moment. "Y' must like bleeding," he commented.

Kurt stole the mic from **him**. "Yeah," he agreed. "Or you must not like your face much."

Scott cleared his throat. Remy and Kurt stared at him. "Y' need something, Scooter?" Remy asked.

"**I'm** running the sim here, remember?"

"Like you'd let us forget."

Scott cleared his throat again.

Remy and Kurt moved away in silent consent, both with bows.

Scott stepped up to the mic and continued as if nothing had happened. "So, like I was **saying**... the idea of this sim is just to test you. You get a minute to hide and then Logan's gonna track you. Then you fight and we see how long you can stand up against him."

"Record's five minutes," Kitty commented, grabbing the mic. "But that was, like, pure dumb luck."

"Damn straight it was," Logan muttered. (1)

"So... are we starting or what?" Morph asked, rocking back on the heels of his neat new New Recruit boots.

Scott sighed and pressed the red button.

The metal walls of the room faded away, revealing rather a large city- downtown Bayville, to be precise.

"WOW," said Morph, looking impressed.

"Run, kid," Logan advised, sitting down so he faced a wall.

Morph blinked, and then ran off, grinning slightly.

One minute later exactly, Logan stood up and sniffed the air. "I got nothing," he muttered, then looked down. The kid had stayed on the gravel- he knew Logan couldn't smell him. No wonder the kid was so damn confident. Of course, gravel shifted under your feet...

FIVE MINUTES LATER

It'd been tricky even for Logan to find Morph's hiding spot, but the kid had messed up by cutting across grass. The clever holograms in the simulation left a nice trail for Logan to follow, straight to Morph's little sanctum sanctorum. "Boo," said Logan, peering down into the hole.

Morph waved up at him. "...So we're supposed to fight now?"

Logan just stared.

"Silence means consent, so righteo." Morph climbed out of the hole and squared himself.

"Ok, kid, you get one free shot. Hit me as hard as you can."

"That's not really fair..."

"Nobody'll care if it's fair or not; you take what you get, kid. Just imagine I'm someone you hate."

Morph blinked, and then frowned, his mouth settling into a line. He feinted left, right, and then shifted into a panther and tackled Logan, effectively driving him through the doorway of a nearby shop.

Logan blinked, and pulled some splinters out of his back before shoving Morph off.

Simulation complete, chirped a computerized voice, and the sim faded away.

Logan was grinning. "You get ice cream, kid," he said.

"IT'S MORPH, DAMMIT!"

A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE LOCKER ROOM

Morph, back in his normal clothes, held up the suit and stuck his hand through the hole. "Um... this isn't a good thing, is it."

Scott facepalmed. "That's biometric fabric, Morph. It has to be grown."

"And that's... bad?"

Scott nodded, sighing. "Come on, let's go talk with Hank."

Morph followed him, still humming that song.

IN HANK'S LAB...

Scott stuck his head in the door. "Hank? You in here, Mr. McCoy?"

"Come right on in, Scott," said a voice from the ceiling. "I'll be down in a moment."

Scott and Morph walked in, the latter looking around for the voice.

A second later, Hank swung down from the bars on the ceiling, holding a half-eaten Twinkie in one foot. "Would either of you care for one?" he asked, switching it to his hands and landing by his desk.

"Uh... no thanks," said Scott, looking slightly squicked.

"So, what can I help you with?" Hank asked, beaming at them.

Morph held up his uniform, the hole prominent.

"Ah, biometric, is it?" Both teens nodded. "As I thought. Bring it here; I'll take a sample and get on growing some more straight away."

"Groovy!" said Morph, handing over the suit.

"O Hyperborean Wanderer," Hank murmured inspecting the suit.

"...Huh?"

Hank rolled his eyes. "Teenagers these days have no taste in literature. You lived on the roads, did you not?"

"Yep!" Morph agreed. He stuck his tongue out at Hank. "And I like Shakespeare, not any of those other dead dudes." He shifted into traditional garb, holding up a skull and doing a pretty good Hamlet. "To be, or not to be-"

He was interupted by Scott walking out and closing the door behind him.

"Some people have no taste," he sighed.

"Amen," Hank agreed, smiling.

(And that's another chappy down. Woot. Next chapter, Rob's new roomy!)


	3. Rob's New Roomy!

Disclaimer: "How's it goin?" "I'm 37 years old and I'm a janitor. How do you think it's going?"

(An: There probably isn't gonna be much, but yeah, this series ships Romy and Kurtty. Rahm's the only one that's probably gonna get represented.)

When Morph walked out of Hank's lab, a tall, slim, black woman was waiting for him. "Come on," she said, turning and walking down the hallway.

"An-"

"I'm Ororo, most of the people here call me Storm because it doesn't sound as weird. I have your room assignment," she continued, keeping up that pace so that Morph pretty much had to jog. "Your roomate is Roberto DaCosta. He's kind of quiet and he gets a little cranky at night because his powers have to do with the sun- he gets strength from it. Don't be suprised if he swears at you in Spanish, he likes to freak people out and he's from Brazil, so don't ask him about soccer if you like your limbs. Or if you do do it at night and Godspeed to you because if you do we'll be adding your body to Jamie's duckling cemetary." Morph opened his mouth and Ororo went on. "Your backpack is already in there, dinner is at five and breakfast is at seven, be fast, because we eat quick. And I mean **quick**, five seconds and every last cinnamon roll is gone, down to the last chocolate-covered donut- uh, yeah, if one of the girls wants a donut, give it up, because she'll completely kill you. It's- oh, here's your room." She knocked on the door and a tall boy with dark skin and a scowl answered.

"Si?"

"Meet your new roomate," Ororo said, grinning.

"You **are** a sadist," Morph commented.

"Why, thank you," she said, beaming at him. "You've talked to Rogue, haven't you?" She grinned at Rob. "I'm sure you two'll get along great." She walked off, her skirt swishing and hiding the totally awkward silence between Morph and Rob.

"Uhm... hi," Morph said, blinking. "I'm Morph."

"Roberto," responded the boy, still scowling. "Call me Rob, I kill you. Got it?"

Morph beamed at him. "I think we're gonna be great friends," he chirped.

Rob's jaw dropped. He stepped aside and let Morph in, still gaping.

Morph clapped him on the shoulder. "Good man, Rob, good man."

About five minutes later Rob cried, "I told you not to call me Rob!"

"Ok, so your reflexes are pretty slow... but we can work on that!"

THE NEXT DAY...

"So how are you and **Rob** getting along?" asked the brown-haired girl... what was her name? _DAMMIT_, Morph thought. He sucked at names. And there were just so **many** people here. She seemed to realize that, scowled at him, and said, "It's Amara Aquilla, and I expect you to remember that, got it?"

Morph nodded, blinking.

The black-haired one, with the gum, leaned over and smirked at her. "But she wants it soon to be DaCosta, right, 'Mara?"

Amara blushed and looked down at the table, but did nothing to deny this fact.

Morph beamed at him. "Dude! We get along great! ...and no, he hasn't said anything about you."

"Damn," Amara muttered.

IN THE GUYS BATHROOM

"So what's it like having a crazy person for your new roomate?" Sam asked, digging around in his locker.

"Crazy, the hell do you expect?" Rob responded, scowling. "I can't STAND him!"

Sam shook his head and walked out.

Morph, meanwhile, decided to get while the getting waws good. catching up to Sam. "Hi!"

"Your roomate isn't exactly into you, my friend," said Sam, hands in his pockets.

"Would I want him to be?"

"He's longing to kill you, to be more precise."

"You seen Rogue?"

"Nope. You seen Rahne?"

"Nope."

"Figures," said Sam, tipping back his head and staring at the ceiling.

"Shouldn't you be watching where you're going?"

"I can fly through a steel wall. I'm not scared of hitting my head."

"But-" That was when Sam walked into the wall, just as Rahne stuck her head out of her room.

"Smooth, Sam, smooth," she commented.

"I meant to do that."

"Sure, boyo, sure."

"Aren't you Scottish?"

"Have **you** seen Rogue?" Morph interjected.

"Why are you so obsessed with finding her?" Sam responded, standing up.

"Because she's the only person in this place that I know how to treat?" Morph suggested, looking at the ceiling and shuffling his feet.

Rahne yawned. "Probably in the DR, with the rest of the seniors?"

"Damn," Morph muttered.

Sam shot him a look that suggested that swearing in front of a girl was the most despicable act any man could commit.

"Ah, well, I'll just have to spread the looove to somebody else," Morph sighed.

"Ye mean the annoyance, right?" Rahne suggested, leaning on Sam.

"The only way you could annoy more people here is by hanging around Jamie and bumping into things," Sam agreed.

"Right, right, harass the newby," Morph said.

"That's what we're here for," Rahne responded, as Morph flapped a hand at her and she walked off.

Morph meandered through the hallway, trying to remember where the DR was again...

FIVE MINUTES LATER...

Morph ran into the DR room, literally, turning a corner and almost smacking into the door.

He had particularly bad luck, because just then the doors opened to reveal Evan, shooting off one last spike. It hit Morph on the shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

The X-men froze. Everyone ignored the announcement of "Simulation complete" and the disappearing background.

"Oh mah God!" said Rogue.

"Uhm..." said Evan.

Morph scowled at the spike and pulled it out, wincing. "**MAN** that smarts," he muttered, as the wound slowly knitted itself up and disappeared, to reveal normal skin. "And it ruined my shirt, too!" He glanced up and happened to notice the stares he was getting. "...What?"

Rogue facepalmed; the other X-men just kept on staring.

A FEW MINUTES LATER

"So let me get this straight," said Rogue, propping her chin on her hands. "Thanks to your chemical makeup, you can heal yourself?"

"From straight cuts, yeah," Morph said, shrugging. "Now, you see, beheading, or burns, stuff like that, uh... no. They hurt like a bitch."

"You've been beheaded?" Kurt asked, looking squicked.

"Uh, no, obviously," said Morph, tapping his skull, "but I figure that's what'd happen."

"How do you know about this stuff, anyway?" Kitty interjected.

"I stole the blood tests readout," said Morph, shrugging again. "No big."

"To you, maybe," Rogue responded.

LATER THAT DAY...

Morph was playing with the stereo in the common room, blasting Simple Plan (1) throughout the room. Sam was beginning to consider ditching his attempt at his homework in favor of strangling him when the senior X-men came in, fresh from another DR session.

"Do you guys have those every day or something?" Morph asked Rogue, not turning his back on the stereo.

"When we've got punishment duty, yeah," said Rogue, flopping backwards over the arm of the couch.

Sam let out a silent scream as Kurt turned on the tv.

"What's your problem?" Remy asked him.

"Only that this essay is due tomorrow and I can't find **any** peace!"

"Try your room."

"Jamie's on a sugar high."

"Oh, well, then, how about de courtyard?"

"Rob and Rahne are playing frisbee."

That was, of course, when they came in. Rahne shifted to human and jumped onto the couch next to Sam. Sam gave her a look somewhat reminiscent of a crabby, sleepless vulture. Rahne just grinned at him.

Remy's eye twitched. "Turn that _merde_ off!" he cried to Morph, who blinked.

"Ah don't think he speaks French, Rem," Rogue commented.

"Did y' actually just call me Remy? Not Gumbo? Not swamp rat? Not LeBeau? Y' tryin' t' make me blush?"

"Ah'll try to make ya hurt if ya don't shut up," Rogue replied.

"What's the matter with Simple Plan?" Morph demanded.

"It's whiny _merde_. And I'm a jazz person, anyway."

"Only because you can't walk five feet in New Orleans without bumping into a jazz club," Sam commented, without looking up from his essay.

"And **why** do y' think you're allowed to comment, Kentucky boy?"

"Ah hate to agree with **that**, Sam, but it's got a point. You're like Southern 'lite'."

"I am not!"

"_Oui,_ y' are," Remy replied, poking him.

"They've forgotten we're here again, haven't they," Rahne sighed, as she watched Rob go over and rip the stereo plug out of the socket. Simple Plan stopped abruptly.

"Yep," Kurt said. "You get used to it after a while."

"Or you have a, like, psychotic episode," Kitty agreed. "But plenty of things around here can trigger that reaction."

Rahne kicked Sam, annoyed with being ignored. He blinked. "Oh... we did it again, didn't we?"

"Aye."

"Damn," Remy muttered. "I'm gettin' out of here before anythin' else annoyin' can happen." With that he got up and walked out.

"Ah second that," said Rogue, pointedly going out the other exit.

(The reason this chapter is kind of short is because I forgot Tabby wasn't still at the 'stute. Ah, well.)

(1) FYI, I hate Simple Plan. Simply loathe them with every atom in my body. Except "Shut Up." That's tolerable. Otherwise, noooo.


	4. HeX Factor

Disclaimer: "Sheila! Come back! I'll make you muffins!"

(An: This is where I get into the canon tie-in, so sorry if I make a mistake or end up confusing; I've never done anything like this before. You can just imagine how Gambit fitted into the battle at the mall. That's too much hassle to write out.)

THE NEXT DAY

"C'mon Morph, we're gonna be late!" came Sam's voice.

Morph hopped the side of Scott's car and ended up next to Jamie. "Hi," he chirped, buckling his seatbelt.

Jamie was in kind of a funk because nobody else wanted to sit next to him. "What, no squirt?"

"Why would I? Nobody but me can help being vertically challenged," Morph pointed out.

Jamie blinked.

"You're short but it's not your fault."

"Oh... ok!" Jamie grinned at him.

AT BAYVILLE HIGH...

"New schools, new schools, how I love to hate new schools," Morph muttered, banging on his locker.

A blonde girl reached over and opened the locker for him. "New here, huh?"

"Is it **that** obvious?"

"You've got that 'oh-shit-I-have-no-clue-what-I'm-doing-look,'" said the blonde. "I'm Tabby. Tabby Smith."

"Morph."

"Morph?"

"It's my name. Now where the HELL is my first class?" he asked, staring at his schedule and blinking.

Tabby leaned over. "Oh, we've got first period together. You can hang with me and Amara."

"You know Amara?"

"Do you?"

"I live with her."

Tabby scowled. "Oh, boy, an X-geek."

"I like it there, so sue me."

Tabby shook her head and flicked her fingers in a come-hither gesture. Morph followed her down the hall with a shrug.

THAT NIGHT...

The New Recruits were all sitting in the common room, waiting for the seniors to come out and give them the details of their ass-kicking.

Scott stormed through the room, looking really pissed.

"Scott, wait up!" Jean called after him.

Scott ignored her.

Bobby prodded Morph. "Hey, you wanna contribute to the pool?"

Morph blinked. "What pool?"

"The betting pool on when they'll hook up. Pick the right week and you get the whole thing... and we're talking like two hundred bucks here."

"I would... but I'm broke. Being a bard of the roads doesn't pay well, apparently." Morph shrugged.

Bobby returned the gesture and slouched back on the couch next to Jubilee.

Then the rest of the seniors came in. Everyone except Kurt looked just about as pissed as Scott.

"We sucked, plain and simple," Evan muttered.

"Shut UP, Evan!" the rest of the seniors cried.

"I'm getting changed," Evan announced, and walked out.

Remy flopped down on the couch, crossing his legs. 

"So..." said Jubilee, ever the gossip hound. She poked him.

Remy opened one eye, glaring at her. "What do y' feel is important enough t' interrupt m' rest t' ask me about?" 

"What happened?" she and Bobby demanded in unison.

"We lost," Rogue replied. "Even though Evan's an idiot, he summed it up pretty well: we sucked."

"You guys lost... to the **Brotherhood**?" all of the New Recruits except Morph cried.

"...Who're the Brotherhood?"

"You had one of 'em showing you around today," Sam commented.

Amara kicked him. "I don't like the connotations of that. Tabitha's free to make her own choices."

"That hurt, you know."

"That was the idea, you jerk."

"Would ye leave him alone!" Rahne interjected.

Amara sniffed but shut up.

"Seriously, who are they?" Morph repeated.

"They're a bunch of idiots... and Tabby," said Bobby, adding the last part quickly as he noticed Amara's glare of death.

"Not anymore, they ain't," said Rogue. "They've got a new chick."

"A real _putain_ (1)," Remy agreed.

"You only say that 'cause she, like, threw a piano at you," said Kitty.

"And..."

Kitty rolled her eyes.

"...A **piano**?" Bobby interjected. "What're her powers?"

"Dunno," said Kitty, "but she's, like, practically unstoppable. She can do, like, anything."

"Kit's right," Rogue agreed. "Whatever the hell her powers are, we just gotta hope she don't hold a grudge..."

THE NEXT DAY, IN THE WAR ROOM...

The training session had been a disaster. _That's putting it nicely,_ Morph thought. He'd been tagged out early. He'd sucked, but in his defense, his powers were more stealth than asskick... that was his excuse and he was sticking to it.

What happened after it was even worse. Xavier was pissed, which was a new experience for most of the X-men.

"Rush him?" Xavier demanded of Scott.

Morph winced. _This is NOT gonna be pretty..._

"As if you're going to take him by surprise?"

"Professor, I-" Scott began, but the professor cut him off.

"Magneto is always two steps ahead. You will never take him by surprise."

_And I thought Xavier was the telepath..._

"Professor, what's going on? You've never pushed us this hard."

_Good cop bad cop routine maybe?_

"I needed to confirm my fears. You're not ready to take on Magneto."

"I disagree."

_And on the comeback meter Scooter gets a zero... point two._

"You couldn't even take on the Brotherhood." Scott winced. This obviously rankled.

_Ouch. Did he REALLY need to bring that up?_

"Newer students- your inexperience could jeopoardize the mission. I can't risk using you." Most of the New Recruits looked crestfallen.

_Using us? That sounds wrong for some reason._

Xavier turned his attention to the seniors. "I feel the need to bolster your ranks."

_"Bolster your ranks?" This guy REALLY needs a better speech writer._

"I'd like you to welcome your new teammates."

The elevator opened. The Brotherhood stepped out.

(Ooh! Cliffhanger! ...ok, so it's not really a cliffhanger, because we all know what's gonna happen... well, sort of. -evil smirk- The story will get a little more serious from here on out... I hope. By the by, if you spot the quote you get a cookie.)

(1) It literally means prostitute in French, but it can also mean bitch... I like it better than "chienne." Mainly because I can't spell "chienne."


	5. Day of Reckoning Suckage

Disclaimer: "I shall cut off his head and give it to Church and we shall be bestest of best friends!" "You know I hate you, right?"

(An: I learned that little swear from "French Kiss." The poulet/chicken thing is from "Princess Diaries." ... I wanted Mystique's Revenge... so bad... -sniffle- I'm suprised nobody spotted the quote; I thought it was dead obvious. These next two chapters are going to be more serious, they being the "Big action" spots. Other than a little fanon adding it's the same as the eps. Except I didn't rewrite all of the action; that'd be boring and tedious for everybody... but mostly me, of course. Also, I'd like to thank Toddfan for answering me questions about the Acolytes; I picked Sauron because he's the one I'm most familiar with.)

Everyone in the room except Xavier immediately got what-the-hell looks.

"Work with them?" Kurt cried. "Are you serious?"

"No way!" Kitty agreed, sharing a mutual glare with Lance. She took Kurt's arm and redoubled it.

"This is a joke, right?" Rogue added.

"_Vous avez dû ME BADINER_!" Remy cried, open-mouthed. (According to Babelfish, "you've gotta be KIDDING me!")  
"You will be a stronger team with their help," said Xavier.  
"Why would you guys help us, anyway?" Evan asked, giving the Brotherhood a suspicious look. "You don't like us any more than we like you."  
"Maybe it's be kind to losers week," Todd suggested.  
_Shot down like a one-winged duck,_ Morph thought, wincing.  
"From what I've heard, this team could use a new leader," said Lance.  
Kitty and Kurt began to snicker as Lance shot them a death glare.

Scott snapped. You could almost hear the little strings breaking in his head. "You want the job, Shakedown?" he demanded. "Fine. I'm done with this."

"Scott!" Jean cried, reaching after him...

_She does that a lot..._

"Let him go," said Xavier.

The rest of the X-men's eyes snapped to him. The same thought was mirrored on everyone's face: What the HELL was wrong with the Professor?

"But Professor-" Jean began. Xavier cut her off.

"We don't have time. We must train while you resume your efforts on Cerebro. If we find Logan, we find Magneto."

The X-men and the Brotherhood filed out.

"Ah can't believe this," Rogue murmured to Kitty and Kurt. "Ever since Logan went missin', it's like the prof's been posessed."

"He seriously needs a chill pill," Evan agreed.

"For once, Ah agree with you."

A LITTLE LATER THAT DAY...

Morph caught up to Jamie. "Come on," he said, gesturing for him to follow.

"Why?" Jamie asked, clearly confused.

"You don't want to miss the fun, do you?"

Jamie blinked and then rushed to follow.

IN THE HANGAR...

The other X-men were already boarding the jet. "Ok, now shh," Morph whispered. "Stand next to me. You have to be really quiet and really still or this won't work." He stood in front of Jamie, in the back of the line, and slipped into the Velocity, turning black and covering Jamie so he looked like part of the paneling.

"Somethin' about this doesn't feel right," said Rogue, propping her chin on her fist.

Remy pulled his cards from his pocket and started shuffling them. "What? De fact that de prof has gone _fou_, that Scooter's ditched us, that we're working wit' de Brotherhood-" he paused to pull a WTF? face, which all of the Brotherhood glared at him for, "-or de fact that we have no clue what we're dealin' wit' but we're goin' t' go kick its ass anyway?"

"Ah'm gonna go with with E, all of the above."

The Velocity took off, no one inside noticing Amara's cry of "Wait!"

INSIDE THE MANOR AT LARGE...

Metal panels covered the windows.

"What's going on?" Bobby asked.

Amara dashed out of the front door just before they locked behind her.

Sam tried to copy her by cannonballing, but was a little too slow and slammed into the door. He rubbed his head, scowling.

Amara ran outside and up to Tabby, who was waiting in Lance's jeep. After some more close calls, they drove off to find Scott.

BACK AT THE MANSION...

Sam was still slamming the door. He wobbled around. You could almost hear the little cartoon sound-effects. "I feel like I bumped my head against a steel wall... several times."

"That's because ye did," Rahne offered.

"Thanks," Sam muttered, rubbing his head.

"Smooth move, Cannoball. I told you, we're locked in," said Bobby. "We have to wait for the others to find us.

_He could've told me that BEFORE I slammed against the door..._

Then, of course, lasers popped out of the walls.

"Or maybe, they'll have to wait for us to find them!" Bobby cried.

SOMEWHERE IN BAYVILLE...

Five metal balls, the one in the center larger than the others, landed in the midst of an abandoned, depecrit courtyard.

Sabretooth stepped from the first, baring his fangs and growling deep in his throat.

From the one next to him stepped a green, lizardish creature. He screeched, unfolding batlike wings.

A column of fire proceeded the next Acolyte, which turned into a skull mimicing the grin of its controller.

The fourth man clenched a fist and covered himself in metal plates.

And from the fifth (and of course biggest) sphere stepped Magneto, billowy cape, bucket, and all.

BACK AT THE INSTITUTE...

"Who's fault is this?" Jubilee demanded.

"Hit the deck!" Bobby yelled, freezing two of the lasers aimed at her. Ray zapped the third. "You ok?"

Jubilee nodded. "This place is getting **way** too unfriendly. We've gotta get out."

"Believe me, I've tried," Ray muttered.

"We've gotta shut down the main computer," said Bobby. "Assemble the others and meet me in the planning room."

Jubilee rolled her eyes at his "leader voice" but went off to find the other New Recruits anyway.

ABOVE THE COURTYARD...

"I wonder what's going on," Jamie whispered.

"No clue, but I have a feeling we'll find out," Morph replied, just as quietly. "Let's get down there." They streamed out with the other X-men and kept to the back as they were divvied up into teams.

Xavier looked down out of the Velocity and spotted the spheres. "Confirmed. Magneto is here."

"I should be out there with them," Ororo murmured.

"You will be."

Ororo turned on her headset. "Team Two, you'll find some very familiar looking spheres."

"Got it," Jean agreed over the comlink.

"Team Three, what's your status?"

"Nothing yet," Hank said.

Todd slurped up some flies zooming around Kitty's head. "Do you **have** to do that?" she demanded of him, looking squicked.

"Sorry. Missed lunch."

Lance came out of a warehouse. "Not here, either. This is getting creepy."

Pietro smirked, a "I-know-something-you-don't" kind of look. Wanda frowned at him, her face creased in a suspicious glare.

Kurt pointed to the orbs.

"Confirmed," said Jean. "All orbs are empty."

"Where **are** these guys?" Rogue demanded.

"They have to know we're here," Evan agreed.

"What now?" Kurt asked. "There's no sign of them."

That was, of course, when the green one appeared, flapping down to them.

"Run!" Jean yelled. They scattered as he landed.

"Over there," said Beast.

"Finally, some action," Lance said, grinning.

"You have **no** idea," Pietro agreed, the smirk still on his face. He ran off.

"It's a trap!" Wanda yelled.

As they got up to the warehouse, the whole thing started to rearrange itself, revealing Magneto and the Acolytes. They're surrounded by flames.

Remy pulled some cards out of his pocket and charged them, throwing them all at Magneto. Magneto, of course, just floated out of reach, leaving his Acolytes to scramble away.

The battle started in full force, neither side really with an edge. (1)

BACK AT THE INSTITUTE...

"The Institute will self-destruct in one minute," the computer announced, in its usual cheerful voice.

"I can't disable it!" Bobby yelled, frantically pressing buttons.

"Out of the way, I'm gonna fry this turkey," Ray announced, rubbing his hands together. (2)

Then Scott burst in. "No! Do that, and it's all over. And I don't mean in a good way. Who did this?"

"Access denied," chirped the computer.

"Never mind," Scott muttered. "I just got my answer."

"Just get us out of here whatever way you came in!" said Ray.

"There's no time! We only have fifteen seconds!"

"Well, do something!" Bobby cried, throwing his hands in the air.

"Come on," said Scott, turning to leave.

The computer began to count down. "Three... Two... One..."

They all fell down.

BACK AT THE WAREHOUSE...

Rogue turned a corner, taking off her glove. She came face to face with the lizard guy again. She glared at him and both grabbed at each other. Nothing happened, beyond the feeling that somebody was trying to do to her what she usually did to them. The lizard guy screeched and flew off. _God, and Ah thought normal drainin' was weird,_ Rogue thought, shaking herself.

The battle went on, and Pietro finally found who he was looking for: his dad. "They're coming for us. And Wanda's leading the charge."

"She'll have to wait. It's time to move this along."

The entire group of X-men, Brotherhood, and tagalong New Recruits were making for them, and then the ground started to ripple.

"Oh, no," Xavier murmured, still in the Velocity.

The ground apparently gave up and collapsed beneath them.

The X-group came to, and Rogue spotted Morph. He gave her a sideways, nervous grin and Jamie waved, but before she could chew him out, there was the sound of guns being cocked. "Uh-oh..." said Morph.

"Nobody move," said Ororo.

"Who wants to move?" Todd agreed.

"What now?" Evan asked.

"Sounds like... footsteps..." Kurt murmured. A bunch of soldiers stepped out.

Morph blanched as a voice announced, "Operatives, stand down." They backed off.

A large, red, lethal-looking robot came into the pit. Morph's eyes widened and he backed up to the edge of the pit, shaking his head. _No, no, this can't be happening... it's just another nightmare... it's gotta be... right?_

Pietro peered down into the pit, and then ran back up to his dad. "He released the Sentinel."

"As I knew he would," Magneto agreed. "Now the whole world will know of us." Magneto smirked slightly (which made him look weirdly like his son) and raised a hand, the ground coming back up with it.

The X-group was now on level with the Sentinel. It began to fire and the X-group backed up, Morph farthest to the back and still shaking his head.

A news group picked up the feed as Ororo tried to take out the robot with a lightning bolt. The X-men and the Brotherhood **finally** decided to completely let up on the rivalry, Jean and Fred working together as Evan took out some of the lasers.

Then the Sentinel shot out some green globs. Fred was frozen in the midst of picking up a car. Evan got froze while shooting a spike. Remy threw a bunch of cards at it, but got frozen too.

Rogue got frozen, and this seemed to snap Morph out of his panic, because he started to help, for once. Kitty phased out of her own glob as Beast got slimed. Morph attempted to break him out, but got zapped himself.

(Ok, so yeah, that's a bit of a copout ending and this chapter in general was... meh, but I wanted to get this out without having to go through the rest of the episode. Next time: we figure out what the hell was up with Morph and catch up with the New Recruits.)

(1) :P This is called "M.A. hates action scenes and we already know what happens, so we're gonna skip it, all right?"

(2) I never knew what episode Ray said that in until now, heheh.


	6. Aliens

Disclaimer: "People are stupid, but they go well with French dressing."

(An: This chapter is short but chockfull of Morphy!backstory goodness. Funfun. It's also pretty short because it was kind of hard to write.)

Morph woke up in a glass cage, surrounded by the other people who'd gotten captured. Fred was still in the green goop, and Logan was chained to a wall, but everyone else was in similar cages. He looked around. "Where **are** we?" 

"Area 51, kid," said Logan.

"...Well, that's new," Morph said.. "I sure hope the aliens get better treatment."

"Ah think they think we **are** the aliens," said Rogue. She glared at him. Morph winced. "Now what the **hell** was all of that back there?"

"Uh... first-mission jitters?"

"Don't even try," Rogue replied.

"It's a long story," Morph mumbled, staring at the floor.

"...You're aware that we're in the middle of a government facility, with no apparent way to get out," Remy commented. His hands were tied behind his back, to the wall. 

"He's got a point."

Morph sighed. "This isn't how I really look." His appearance changed from a normal person, to having all-white skin, white eyes, and no hair.

"...Holy CRAP!" said Rogue.

"They all say that," said Morph, with a little, bitter laugh.

"Well, that's a new one," Remy commented. "So what does this, praytell, have to do with y' freakin' out?"

"My parents knew I was a mutant from the day I was born, y'know," said Morph, leaning back against the glass. "But I could hide it. And then my mom died. Me and my dad didn't get along. So when this guy, Trask, came into town looking for mutants... well... let's just say dear old dad didn't put up much of a fight." He paused, biting his lip.

"...**And**..." said Rogue.

"This isn't easy, ok?" Morph snapped. "I wander from place to place 'cause staying in one too long usually means I have to tell people... what happened."

Rogue's expression softened a little. "Just keep goin'."

"Remember the whole 'lab stay' thing? I didn't go there by choice. Trask's goons brought me to it. Those robot things? They're called Sentinels. Once they found out the whole deal with my powers, they decided to use me for target practice." Logan glanced up. "What they had out there, they were better than what they tested on me, but the ones they had then were still enough to kick the shit out of me each and every day."

"How'd you get out?"

"One day one of the guards was bringing me lunch when he touched the lock and it sparked- I mean like Ray-type sparks. He let me pose as him and get out. I messed with the machinery first, though- I think I caused some major havoc, 'cause this was all a couple of months ago." Morph shut up, closing his eyes. (1)

Rogue propped her chin on her fist. "So... after the fact that the **professor** told us that it wouldn't be a good idea for you newbies to go along and the fact that everyone **knew** we wouldn't have a clue what we were up against and the fact that you've been an X-man for less than a week you **still** thought it would be a good idea to tag along... and with **Jamie** no less!"

Morph winced, shrinking a little. "Well, when you put it that way..."

If looks could kill, Morph would've been six feet under from the glare Rogue was giving him.

_In retrospect, probably not the best response,_ Morph thought.

Then a couple of scientists and army guys came in. _Oh, boy,_ Morph thought.

The scientists began to free Fred from the green stuff while the army guy went over to Logan. You could tell he was doing his best to look intimidating. _Yeah. Like that'll work._

"Who are you? Who dyou work for? Did you build that robot?" the soldier demanded. "I want answers!"

_That's probably not the best way to get them..._ Morph couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the army guy as Logan growled and tried to break free.

The soldier looked disgusted and walked out, the scientists following. 

"What happened?" Fred asked.

Everyone else rolled their eyes.

Once Logan was sure the security was gone, he glanced at Evan, who got the hint. He shot a spike through an air slot in his cage and it hit the chains. Logan grinned, let out his claws, and freed himself.

After that, everyone else got out pretty easily.

More guards came after everyone was free, followed by Kurt and Mystique.

"'Bout time you got here, Elf," said Logan, utterly calm as he dispatched a couple more army guys. "What's she doing here?"

"Well, it's kind of complicated," said Kurt. "See..."

Mystique interrupted him. "We'll send you a memo!"

Everyone ran out of the room, just in time, since the exits were all closing. They ran into Lance, Jean, and Scott.

"What's goin' on?" Rogue demanded.

"We'll tell you later," Jean gasped. "Right now, run!"

Bobby leaned out of a corridor. "Over here!"

Using a ladder, they got onto the roof.

_Well, this is going pretty smoothly,_ Morph thought. Then Fred got stuck in the hatch. _Scratch that..._

"Like, don't sweat it!" Kitty said, phasing him through.

Everyone except Mystique was now on the roof. "Velocity," she said, into her headset, "we need pickup at Building Five."

Scott then did something pretty un-Scott-like: he bent down and shut the grate.

"What are you doing? Let me through!"

"Where's Professor X?" Scott replied.

"Release me, or you'll never know!"

The drama in that was missed by the escapees; the ones who'd been trapped were too busy exchanging looks that said "The Professor's gone!"

"You have three seconds, lady."

"Let me pass!"

Scott just slammed the hatch shut.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Lance protested.

"She got what she deserved!"

"Hey, come on, you guys," Jean said. "You can tear each other apart later."

Scott and Lance were exchanging glares of death. "Oh, we will. I guarantee it."

They all climbed into the Velocity, Scott last.

Then the guns on the roof aimed at the helicopter. Storm, perturbed, zapped them. _Gotta give 'em points for persistence,_ Morph thought, before he noticed that everyone except Scott and Bobby (who were getting rid of the planes following them) was staring at him. "Heheh... hi..."

Rogue shot him a look that said "This ain't over" but said nothing.

LATER THAT DAY, BACK AT THE INSTITUTE GROUNDS...

Everyone had been caught up on the destruction of the mansion. Now there was a lot of rubble, a lot of depression, and no professor. Kitty sighed. "The Institute is gone, the Professor is missing, we can't go to school, and it's open season on mutants."

"Look at the bright side... no homework," Kurt offered. "...That didn't help, did it."

Kitty just stared at him for a moment. "Even, like, Morph's depressed," she said, gesturing at him. He appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, turning a piece of the wreckage over and over in his hands.

"Well, we have each other, right?" Kurt replied, slipping his arm around her waist.

Kitty leaned back against him, smiling a little now. "There's that, yeah..."

(And that my friends is called a copout ending because I don't want to recap or rehash any more than I have... the next chapter should be out soon; it will also be the last... you guys are going to kill me for this ending.)

(1) Comic!Morph is actually really smart; he has a degree in computer engineering.


	7. Just Like I Always Do

Disclaimer: "Calvin Tower. Which word is profanity in your language, O Hyperborean Wanderer?"

(An: Well, here it is, the ending... the shortness burns, I know. This may just be the only completely serious chapter in this mess.)

Three people left the Institute after what the media had dubbed "The Day of Reckoning."

The first was Rahne. She was sitting in the rigged-up version of the dorms when Amara leaned in, with the phone. "You've got a call," she said, tossing it to her.

Amara waved at Sam as he walked by, holding a frisbee. He'd been pretty surprised to find it, a little battered but not wrecked, out behind the Institute. He peered into Rahne's room. She was pretty involved in her conversation, seeming upset.

"But- Moira-" She scowled at the phone. "Yeah, I know ye helped build it- that's why ye should trust me here!" The person on the other end of the line said something and Rahne's face dropped. "Please... don't..." After a moment, Rahne whispered, "F-fine... I'll start packing... when's the flight?" She bit her lip and nodded. "Aye, I know... I'll be waitin'. Bye." She turned off the phone and flopped back on her bed, her eyes closed tight.

Sam came in and sat next to her. "What's up?"

Rahne winced at his voice. She rolled over away from him. "That was Moira. She's my guardian. She- she wants me to come home."

Sam stared at her. _Rahne? Not here?_ The thought was pretty much alien to him. "For how long?"

"I dunno- she wouldn't say. She just kept goin' on about how I wasn't safe here-"

"At the **mansion**?"

"Aye, that's what I said," Rahne agreed, "but she and the Professor go way back, ye know, and she says she knows the place inside out. Accordin' to her, if Magneto attacks, even when we rebuild the mansion, it wouldn't hold again." She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't wanna go," she whispered.

Sam, without even thinking about it, put an arm around her. "When're you leavin'?"

Rahne angrily swiped at her eyes. "Tomorrow, really early." She looked at the clock. Sam glanced at her and she looked like she was going to say something more. Then she bit her lip again and looked away. "I should probably start packing..."

"Yeah..." Sam hugged her for a moment. "I'm gonna miss you..." He got up and left, embarrassed.

Rahne stared after him, then at the frisbee. She buried her face in her pillow and started to cry.

THE NEXT DAY...

To be blunt, the X-men's first day back hadn't gone well for Morph. He'd ditched the shape he usually assumed to blend in to show his support for his fellow mutants. _Noble idea in theory, bad idea in practice,_ Morph thought as he slammed his locker shut. It was already showing signs of giving up: two bomblike things, a dead rat, and graffiti were a little much for one locker to bear.

He put his hands behind his head and walked out of the school. He was introspective today, and that didn't happen often. _Usually I just ditch a town and move on before I can think too much..._ But, then again, Bayville wasn't really like other towns he'd come across.

It was pretty weird (to him) how fast he'd gotten used to life at the mansion- if one could really do that. He liked living from day to day. _Always have, always will, so why am I sticking around?_

He started for the mansion, noticing the small (well, not so small) skirmish by where Scott usually picked them up.

_Rahne's gone. Jubes's gone. Everybody's freaking over the whole "mutant" thing. Nobody would notice if I left..._

Morph stopped short in the middle of the sidewalk and threw up his hands. _What am I _thinking? The other people on the street immediately shrunk back. "Relax, I'm not the one with the flashy powers," Morph said, putting his hands in his pockets. He preened. "That's what the striking good looks are for."

The others stared at him for a moment, then semi-relaxed.

Morph sighed and kept walking. _After all, I know where I'm not wanted..._

AT THE INSTITUTE...

Morph sat down on a rock by the woods. It was only after everyone had found out about his whole "tortured past" thing that he'd started having these thoughts. He didn't hate being tied down- but he did hate the funny looks he got occasionally.

_Let's look at this logically, hmm?_ Morph mused, shifting to a more comfortable spot. _On the one hand, not leaving. On the other, doing what I've gotten used to doing and leaving. Staying here and helping the X-men, versus leaving and helping myself. Staying, going, staying, going... oh for crying out loud._ "Who am I **kidding**?" Morph asked of the sky. He shook his head.

LATER THAT NIGHT...

Morph stared at the ceiling. It was long after midnight. Everyone else was asleep. Ororo had just made her nightly patrol. _It's now or never, boyo._ He slipped out of bed, and paused, spotting his X-suit. _It's a burn to leave this... but I got along without it before._

He grabbed his bag, and stopped for a moment. He grabbed his communicator off the dresser and headed out, dropping it in.

There was one more thing that delayed him, the group shot of the X-men that somebody'd placed near the exit. "Don't look at me like that," he said. "I never said I was sticking around. Hank said it: I'm a wanderer. I'm just doing what I do best." He glared at the picture before walking out into the night.

(You wanna know why that ending sucked so much? Because I changed it last minute. However, it lends more easily to the sequel. It'll be called "Interstellar Road Trip", and it'll be about Warlock... and Morph, yeah. Trust me, it'll be better. It should be out in a few days.)


End file.
